nickel plating suspension parts

[tonychilton]

I'm restoring a 75 lola super vee and am ready to have suspension bits nickel plated. I am wondering whether the bearing cups and the inside of the inner ends (where circlips and bearings go) should be plated or protected from the plating process.

TIA

[Brian]

I would protect them. Your bearings will probably press in ok, but the extra crush from the thickness of the plating makes them very hard to move the ball inside the race. I did a car a little while ago where the cups were welded to the suspension arms after the final sizing of the bore ID's, they warped and it took me hours to hand polish them round again. I could press in an old bearing that you could spin the ball with your fingers, and after it was in the cup it would be almost impossible to move with a big screwdriver through the bore of the ball.

Brian

[Rick Kirchner]

I'd protect the threads and all the bolt thru holes as well. Even then, depending on the plater, you might be taking a dremel to the parts to remove dogbone and such to ensure good fits.

[HayesCages]

Grease bolts and install in the threaded holes, turn plugs for the sockets. Plating won't go into the socket that way.

If you want the plating as thin as possible tell them to "straight plate" them, that is, no copper flash prior to nickel. Keeps it down to a thou. or so.

Brian, Secret to keeping the sockets round is to make plugs that just lightly press into them, then weld. Remove plugs and holes remain true. The heat from welding can soak into the plugs rather than the thin walled socket.

[Steve Demeter]

Make sure to tell the plater that the pieces are brazed, which to my knowledge, Lolas of that vintage were (I had a T-328). It is important in the prep process as different preparations will have to be used to avoid damaging the braze joints.

[Rick Kirchner]

the plater will not want grease anywhere around his tanks....They usually employ a pretty serious detergent bath to start and if the grease leaches while in the plating tank it will affect adhesion - on the part as well as others in the same tank.

[HayesCages]

Done it before without issues. It stays on the internal threaded areas.

[Offcamber1]

I used to work in a plating shop in Ypsilanti back in the mid 70s. areas not to be plated were protected with silicone iirc. You had to ASK to have that done otherwise they would be plated without regard to potential tolerance issues and nickel or electroless nickel would definitely "reach" inside of parts in places where chromium would not.